An Old Friend
by ShinigamiForever
Summary: Um....Heero goes back to Wing Zero to talk. Just read it. Reviews please!


An Old Friend  
By ShinigamiForever  
  
Pairings: None. Or none are really mentioned. If there are, just a slight hint of 1+2. That's all.  
Notes: Yes, people, I am sleepy. I usually am. The only free time I have is really late at night when I sneak downstairs. *sighs*. I'm so unlucky. I'm not really proud of this fic, but hey, comments and criticism to 02_duo_maxwell@gundamwing.net.   
Disclaimers: insert disclaimer here Seriously, people. If you are so worried about a disclaimer, don't read the fic.  
Summary: Messed up timeline. In this story, the Gundams were never destroyed. Under the guide of Relena, the ESUN set up a small army. They mostly use Wing Zero because of the Zero system. Heero comes back to visit Wing Zero. By the way, the Zero system can talk. Like Jane in the Ender's Game stories by Orson Scott Card, the Zero system has its own personality. It has a distinct voice in your brain, so you recognize it.  
  
***  
  
Heero gazed fondly at his past mechanical partner. The room was empty except for them. The Gundam was clean and white again, new and nothing like Wing Zero that was used during the war. It looked like it was at peace with itself finally. Strange, but here, Wing Zero looked at home, with a purpose, and happy. Heero didn't know how he knew, he just knew that he knew.  
He made his way towards the giant mecha, one step at a time. It didn't seem foreboding, in fact, he felt like he was just visiting an old friend. The training room was comfortable. He simply wanted to take his time with everything, relaxing in the luxury of having free time in which he could enjoy.  
There was a sturdy ladder resting against Wing Zero, and Heero assumed it was for the use of the soldiers that had to get up to the cockpit. During the war, Heero never bothered. He just jumped and grabbed whatever stuck out, slowly pulling himself up to the cockpit, then opening it. Now, though, it would be better for him to do it the normal way. If there was such.  
He climbed up the ladder the same way he had walked over to the Gundam, slowly but surely. He felt like it was the ladder of life he was climbing on, and somewhere, in the middle, he would be forced to stop. But since it was just an ordinary ladder, he made it all the way to the top.  
An electronic lock rested over the door to the cockpit. It had a narrow strip for a display, and the words "Enter name and passcode" flashed around on the screen. Heero remembered dimly that some secretary-he supposed she was a secretary- had created a name and passcode for him so that he would be able to log in. His directory had no restrictions, which gave him the freedom of doing an entire check of Wing Zero.  
He reached in his pocket, pulling out a slightly crumpled piece of white paper. It had the word "HYui01" and the passcode "Gundamaxs00359." The words were written in pencil, lightly, almost invisible on the paper, but Heero typed them into the lock and the cockpit opened.  
The former pilot sat back in the cockpit, silently. The familiar smell of the air and mechanics surrounded him, quickly taking him back to the times he both did and didn't want to go back to. The cockpit door closed and left the aura of darkness into the enclosed space.  
"Zero. Remember me?" He asked softly into the empty space. He rested his hands on the controls. They still felt like they were made for him, conforming to his fingers and shape of his palms. He waited, calmly and patiently. Within a moment, the cockpit began to glow bright yellow, radiating warmth, and he closed his eyes, enjoying the sensations.  
/I thought you would never come back, / Zero answered, laughing with a kind of learned mirth. Heero smiled, sensing that Zero was still waiting for him to say something before it forgave him.  
"Is that to say that you missed me?"  
/Of course, you forgetful human. /  
"Sorry. Life has kept me busy."  
/I know. I was kidding. /  
Heero huffed into the cockpit, sending Zero into peals of laughter. He knew he was just translating it as laughter in his brain; to others, it could very well be crying.  
"How's the others?"  
/Which one? /  
"I don't know. Any of them. Quatre. How's Quatre?"  
/He's fine. / The pilot scowled, opening his eyes. Bright blue streaks of light flew around the yellow light carelessly, dancing like fish in a stream full of sunlight. Within a moment, the cockpit was full of pulsating red, green, yellow, and blue light that danced around him, somehow looking like they were forming a tunnel to another dimension.   
"I know that."  
/Then what? / The young boy sighed, tilting his head down, letting his eyes be shaded by his long bangs. The air around him shifted to a dark sea of blue and bits of sparkling white, like stars.   
"I know that he's fine. But, I mean, how is he really doing?" Heero struggled to say, searching the fake night sky of words. The sky dissolved and was replaced by a picture of Quatre Zero had stored from the war.  
/He is doing well in his family business and misses all of you. / Zero changed the picture to a scene that surrounded Heero again. It was a fall sky, the leaves gently drifting to the ground. Zero liked to amuse itself by shifting scenes in the cockpit in its free time. There was a disk in the system full of its "memories" that it pulled up randomly to form scenes. Sometimes it was annoying to Heero. Today, it was comforting.   
"How's Trowa?" He leaned back into the cockpit seat, relaxing.   
/Him? He's fine. /   
"What's he doing?"  
/Working with Quatre in the business. /  
"Aa." Zero returned to the soft yellow glow. Heero closed his eyes, tired. He wasn't quite sure why he was tired, but every time he tried to think back about the pilots, it was hard, and he ended up just forgetting about them.   
"Wufei?"  
/He's ah…disappeared. /  
"What?"  
/I can't track him down. /  
"That's alright. I just was curious."  
/Good for both of us you're not a cat. /  
"Shut up Zero."  
/Laughter happy smiling fun/  
There was a pause as both of them contemplated. Heero knew where Wufei was. The former Nataku pilot had sent him a letter earlier, telling him that he was fine, and that he would come visit Heero sometime. But Heero wished he could find more information on the other pilots. Secretly, he knew that he wasn't trying hard enough. Maybe he didn't want to find them again. He didn't know.  
/You haven't asked about him yet. /  
"Him?"  
/Yes, him. /  
"Just say the name, Zero, names don't bite."  
/Fine. Duo. You haven't asked about Duo yet. /  
"Maybe I don't want to."  
/Well, why not? /  
"I don't care."  
/And you do about where Wufei went. /  
"Oh, I know where Wufei went."  
/So do I. /  
"What? You lied?"  
/I'm learning from you. /  
"Zero…" Heero opened his eyes and sat up, staring at the recent picture of Duo that had popped up on the screen. He looked away, glaring at the preset yet nonexistent other member of the conversation.  
"I wish sometimes you didn't learn so quickly."  
/Shinigami talked to me yesterday. /  
"What, the pilot or the mobile suit?"  
/Funny you should mention the pilot first. /  
"Ze-"  
/I know, I know, shut up. He says its pilot is lonely. /  
Heero made a derisive snort. Zero immediately flooded the cockpit with bright purple light.  
"Lonely."  
/That's what he said. /   
"That's… never mind.  
The cockpit was silent for a few long minutes. Suddenly, Heero looked at his watch, then reluctantly said, "Zero, I have to go."  
/I understand. /  
"Peace has been kind to you."  
/As it has been with you. /  
"Goodbye, Zero."  
/Come and visit me sometime again, Heero. /  
"Of course."  
The cockpit opened again, light flooding in like a blinding sweep of a wave. Heero stood for a moment, adjusting his eyes, before hopping down onto the floor.  
"Ja, Zero."  
/Ja, ne. /  
He turned around, quietly. He left the way he had come in, silent and unnoticed. The door shut with barely a sound, and the pilot was gone. Zero nodded to itself in the cyberworld, then returned to making contact with the millions of other computers and systems that were out there in the large human world. Within moments, Heero was outside again. The Japanese took a deep breath. Then he disappeared into the human world Zero was so deeply immersed in.  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
Like it? Hate it? Really feel the need to bang a bunch of books over my head? E-mail me and tell me! Yours truly, ShinigamiForever  
  



End file.
